1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a movable console device having a rack-mount configuration.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various electronic devices, such as computers, designed to be mounted for use on a rack having a predetermined dimension, have been developed. This type of electronic device, having a rack-mount configuration, is known as one which possesses superior space-saving features. In such rack-mount type electronic devices, there is known a movable console device (or a so-called console drawer) comprised of a console section including a keyboard (or an input unit) and a display (or an output unit) incorporated in a common frame member, and a mount section for mounting the console section in a linearly movable manner onto a rack structure prepared separately, wherein the movable console device is able to be taken in and out of the rack structure in a drawer-like manner (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-29565 (JP-A-2000-29565)).
In the movable console device described in JP-A-2000-29565, the console section includes receiving portions, defined inside a frame member (referred to as “a module” in JP-A-2000-29565) having a predetermined dimension, for receiving individually a keyboard and a display, respectively. The keyboard is fixedly placed on the frame member at a front side (i.e., a near side relative to or as seen by an operator) with the operating surface of the keyboard, on which a plurality of keys are arranged, being exposed. The display is placed on the frame member at a rear side (i.e., a far side relative to or as seen by an operator) and rotatably mounted onto the frame member via a pivotal support mechanism such as a hinge. When the movable console device is not used, the display is accommodated in the receiving portion thereof in a flat or horizontal attitude with the screen surface of the display facing upward, and the screen surface is placed at substantially the same height as the operating surface of the keyboard. In this state, the console section exhibits a plate-like profile having a predetermined dimension as a whole, defined by the outer dimension of the frame member, and is contained in or inserted into the rack structure through the mount section. On the other hand, when the movable console device is used, the console section is drawn out of the rack structure through the mount section, and the display is rotated relative to the frame member, so as to extend outside the receiving portion, and is disposed at an operating position in which the screen surface of the display faces an operator at an appropriate angle.
JP-A-2000-29565 also discloses another movable console device configured so that, when the movable console device is not used, the display is laid on the keyboard with the screen surface of the display facing the operating surface of the keyboard. In this configuration, the height of the plate-like profile exhibited by the console section in the non-operating state is twice as large as that in the above-described configuration in which the keyboard and the display are arranged side by side in the non-operating state. In this connection, in the technical field of the rack-mount type electronic devices, the height dimension of the electronic devices to be contained in the rack structure has been standardized in such a manner that, for example, the height of a unit shelf zone in a so-called “19-inch width” rack structure is indicated as “1U (=44.45 mm)”(according to EIA (Electronic Industries Association)).
Further, as an improvement of the above configuration in which the keyboard and the display are disposed in a stacked manner in the non-operating state, a movable console device including a thinner console section able to be contained in the shelf zone of the standard unit height (1U) has been developed. In this movable console device, the console section includes a receiving portion for receiving the keyboard and the display in a stacked manner, in the interior of the frame member having at most the height “1U”. The keyboard has a low-profile structure and is fixedly placed on a bottom region of the receiving portion in the frame member with the operating surface of the keyboard being upwardly exposed. The display has a thinner display element, such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and is rotatably mounted on the frame member adjacent to the keyboard at a far side relative to or as seen by the operator. When the movable console device is not used, the display is accommodated in the receiving portion in such a manner as to be laid on the keyboard with the screen surface of the display facing to the operating surface of the keyboard, and, in this state, the console section exhibits a plate-like profile having substantially the height “1U”. On the other hand, when the movable console device is used, the display is rotated relative to the frame member so as to extend outside the receiving portion and is disposed at an operating position where the screen surface of the display faces an operator at an appropriate angle, and thereby the operating surface of the keyboard is opened.
In the above-described movable console device including the thinner console section for accommodating the keyboard and the display in a stacked manner inside the frame member during the non-operating state, the frame member is provided with lateral wall parts extending along both the left and right sides of the keyboard as seen from an operator, so as to define the receiving portion capable of receiving the display above the operating surface of the keyboard. The lateral wall parts also act as rail base-panels provided on the console section for a slide rail mechanism as a component of the mount section, which are essential elements for affording a slidability to the mount section under certain dimensional limitations of the mount section. As a result of this construction of the frame member, when the movable console device is used (i.e., when the display is disposed in the operating position), the operator's hands operating the keyboard may hit the lateral wall parts of the frame member and a smooth key-operation may be thereby obstructed. Further, when it is desired to use a handheld-type pointing device such as a mouse, it is difficult to ensure or establish a surface for driving the handheld-type pointing device in the console section, especially in the case of such a thin structure.